Guides

Straight answers, from the dock.

What we tell clients when they ask. Written from ten years of boats and exotics on this coast, with sources where numbers matter.

6 min read

How often should you wash a boat in saltwater? (Florida answer)

In South Florida, rinse the boat with fresh water after every trip and put it on a full wash schedule by how it's kept: weekly for boats that live in the water, every one to two weeks on a lift, every two to four weeks in a dry stack, and after each use and monthly for trailered boats. Salt left overnight starts working on gelcoat and stainless.

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6 min read

Ceramic coating vs. wax for boats: what lasts in Florida sun

In South Florida, ceramic coating outlasts wax several times over, ten to one or more on a well-kept boat. Carnauba wax survives two to three months under a summer UV index of 9–11+; a professional marine ceramic coating typically holds 18–24 months, and two to five years with fresh-water washdowns and annual maintenance. Up front it costs more; per year it usually costs less than three or four wax visits.

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6 min read

Gelcoat oxidation removal: when your chalky hull can be saved

Usually, yes. Gelcoat oxidation is the UV-degraded surface of the resin, a thin dead layer on a coat that left the factory 15–25 mils thick. Light through heavy chalking comes back with staged wet compounding and polishing; severe chalk needs a 600–800 grit wet sand first. Only gouged, crazed, or burned-through gelcoat needs paint or re-gel.

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6 min read

Detailing a boat before you sell it: what surveyors and buyers notice

Detail the boat before listing photos are shot and refresh it lightly the day before the survey. Surveyors and buyers read the engine room and bilge first, then the waterline, non-skid, upholstery, and stainless. Florida detailers list wash-and-wax at roughly $8–$15 per foot, compounding and polishing at $15–$35, and full restoration packages up to about $55 per foot; a corrected, dry, odor-free boat photographs better and shortens negotiation.

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6 min read

Hurricane season boat prep: the detailing side (June–November)

Hurricane season boat prep on the detailing side means getting protection on the finish before June 1 and decontaminating fast after any storm. Coat or seal the gelcoat pre-season, keep fresh-water washdowns on a weekly cadence through the September 10 peak, then after a storm rinse salt within a day or two, dry the interior below 60% humidity, and treat mildew before it sets in stitching.

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6 min read

Paint correction explained for Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini owners

Paint correction is controlled machine polishing that removes a few microns of clear coat to permanently level swirls, holograms, and water etching. Factory clear on most cars is only 35–50 microns, so exotic correction is done conservatively: paint-depth readings on every panel, a test spot before any pad touches the car, and a one-step or multi-stage process chosen by the defects, not a menu.

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4 min read

What ceramic coating costs for a car in Florida, and what you actually get

In Palm Beach and Broward County, professional automotive ceramic coating is typically listed at $400–$1,000 for a one-to-two-year coating, roughly $1,000–$2,500 for three-to-five-year systems, and $1,500–$2,800 for seven-to-ten-year or lifetime-warranty packages. Paint correction, required before any coating, adds about $300–$1,000+ depending on condition. Vehicle size and prep hours, not the bottle, drive the price.

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6 min read

New boat? Protect it in the first 90 days

Protect a new boat in its first 90 days by coating it before the first season; dealer wax lasts weeks to a few months in South Florida. Most hulls leave the factory machine-buffed, so a light polish and ceramic coating, a fresh-water rinse of every stainless fitting after each salt run, mild soap on the SeaDek, and a weekly or bi-weekly wash cadence carry the factory finish for years.

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6 min read

Removing the brown waterline stain (tannin, scum, and the Loxahatchee mustache)

The brown waterline stain is tannin from blackwater rivers like the Loxahatchee, plus algae and calcium that bond into porous gelcoat. Remove it with a fresh-water wash, then a mild oxalic-acid hull cleaner kept wet for 5–15 minutes and rinsed, not muriatic acid. Every acid wash strips wax and opens the gelcoat; a ceramic coating and weekly washdowns keep the stain from setting.

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7 min read

How much does boat detailing cost in South Florida?

Zea Detailing charges $10 per foot for a fresh-water boat wash, $30 per foot for a wash and wax, $20 per foot topsides and $15 per foot hull sides for each step of gelcoat correction, and from $250 per foot for a ceramic coating with the full correction included. Published South Florida rates run $3.50-$10/ft for washes, $8-$30/ft for wash-and-wax, $15-$50/ft for compounding and $25-$95+/ft for coating alone.

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